CAPE TOWN, South Africa, CMC – West Indies are hoping to buck their recent losing trend against India when they meet the Asian powerhouses in their critical second Group B game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here today.
The Caribbean side is desperate for points, having lost their opener last weekend against England in Paarl, to already find themselves trailing in the race for a semi-final spot.
However, West Indies have lost their last 10 meetings against India, going down twice in the Tri-Nations Series last month, losing 5-0 in the Caribbean in 2019 and 3-0 in Vijayawada three years prior.
“Well seeing that we lost our first game it’s pretty important that we come out and perform to [the] best of our abilities tomorrow against India,” batsman Rashada Williams told media on the eve of the game at Newlands.
“We’ve played them twice in the Tri-Series before coming to the World Cup, so we know where we went wrong, we know where we [fell] short. So, it’s just for us to go there and turn up on the day.”
She continued: “We struggled a bit in our batting and we were pretty impressive with our bowling but it’s just for everything to click.
“And once we get all those areas together then it will be a competitive game and the team that wants it more on the day will be the first.”
West Indies find themselves locked in a wretched 14-game losing streak in T20 Internationals, thrashed 4-1 by New Zealand in the Caribbean last October after winning the opening game, going down 5-0 to England two months later, before losing all four games of the Tri-Nations. They suffered an injury crisis during the Tri-Nations with as many as five leading players sidelined, including marquee batsman and former captain Stafanie Taylor.
With their return, however, West Indies will be hoping to turn the page on their poor run, and Williams acknowledged their bowlers will have to produce their best especially against a fearsome batting lineup further strengthened by the return of vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who missed the opening game with a finger injury.
“Our bowlers have their plans. I am not a bowler so I can’t really expand on what the plan they have but I know we’re coming out here to bowl our best deliveries at all times and our best deliveries will in the end help us to get wickets,” Williams said.
“And as coaches always say, bowling doesn’t work without fielding. So, us in the field … we have to back up the bowlers, regardless if it’s a bad ball or it’s a good ball.”
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Hayley Matthews (captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams.
INDIA – Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey.